Rollins says the committee awarded the Nobel Prize to President Obama prematurely.

(CNN) - Did the Nobel Committee cheapen the Nobel Peace Prize with its choice of President Obama Friday?

CNN Republican strategist Ed Rollins says the award should be based on what someone has done, not what they might do.

"I think this may be way too preliminary," Rollins said on CNN's American Morning. "At the end of four years, maybe he has accomplished something and deserves it. I think it has diminished the award itself."

I think certainly you have to give him an "A" for trying," Rollins also said. But at the end of the day, what has he accomplished? Who on the world stage are his allies at this point in time?"

Obama with Israeli President Banjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month.

(CNN) – The surprise decision to award U.S. President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize elicited swift reaction Friday, with some hailing the choice and others expressing astonishment and skepticism.

Praise came from Afghanistan's president, the Israeli defense minister and even a senior official from Hamas - the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza. Yet an Egyptian human rights activist said he was "shocked" that Obama won. And the Internet hummed with a range of views.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai - whose U.S.-backed government is locked in warfare with Islamic militants - praised the choice.

"We congratulate, wholeheartedly, President Obama on the award of this prestigious award," said Karzai. "We recognize and commend President Obama's vision and leadership with a hope that peace and normalcy will return to Afghanistan and our region."

"He has achieved nothing. He's stumbling. He hasn't achieved any of his promises and nothing is working. He promised to close Guantanamo and now that's not going to happen, and the Arab-Israeli conflict looks like it's going to get very nasty."

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it gave the prize to Obama for his "efforts to strengthen international diplomacy," his "vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons" and for inspiring hope and creating "a new climate in international politics."

Less than nine months into his presidency, Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

(CNN) - President Obama got a shocking wake up call…it wasn't at 3 a.m., but shortly before 6. A senior administration official says White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told the president that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, and that Mr. Obama was "humbled to be selected by the committee."

The stunning announcement by the committee caught the White House off guard. One senior administration official said, "we were quite surprised."

As pundits debate the merits of the award, two themes are emerging. That the prize could give President Obama some clout as he pushes for health care reform, forms a strategy for going forward in Afghanistan, and works to engage Iran and North Korea. In fact, another senior administration official told CNN he hopes the White House can "use it for the positive."

On the other hand, getting such a lofty nod just nine months into his presidency will provide fuel for his Republican opponents. A top Republican in the Bush administration says "this will backfire on them for a while," then added that it was "a gift to the right."

President Obama was initially scheduled to make public remarks this afternoon on regulatory reform in the financial sector. But the White House has now added a Rose Garden event at 10:30 a.m., where he will make a statement on receiving the Nobel Prize.

The first African-American to win the White House, Obama was praised by the Norweigan Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

The committee also said Obama has "created a new climate in international politics."

In his short time in office, Obama has acted on a wide range of issues from the economy to terrorism and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This year's peace prize nominees included 172 people and 33 organizations. The committee does not release the names of the nominees.

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